A Florida-based migrant detention center dubbed by President Donald Trump as ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ failed to comply with a litany of federal detention standards, a new watchdog report found – and confined migrants in small metal ‘cages’ for hours at a time.
The facility opened in July 2025, and it officially closed its doors 13 months later after severe issues were reported. Florida officials said in May that the facility had processed and deported roughly 22,000 detainees during that time.
The new report, published by DHS’s Office of the Inspector General, determined that conditions at the now-shuttered facility posed ‘significant risks’ to migrants’ health
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